Even in his time of bereavement, Ahmed is thinking about the globe and how disappointed he is that some world figures are using the coronavirus pandemic for political gains.

"[Donald] Trump is using it as an excuse to try to ban immigration and the Hungarian government is centralising power off the back of this," Ahmed explained. "I'm seeing reports of India, where the government are calling it 'corona-jihad' and they're trying to blame it on the spread of Muslims and they are segregating hospitals between Muslims and non-Muslims.

"This moment is forcing people to take their masks off," Ahmed added. "You see more of someone in a moment like this -- what they are about, who they are."

Actor Riz Ahmed at the premiere of Venom in October. (Getty)

To date, there have been more than three million confirmed cases around the world and more than 209,000 deaths due to coronavirus. In London alone, where Ahmed lives, the death count sits at 21,157. And he believes it could have been much worse if not for the UK's National Health Service. Ahmed pointed out that many of the NHS staff are from non-British nationality, who often experience racism on the frontline, and he hopes the coronavirus will put an end to that.

"Who are the people who, for every moment of crisis in this country, have kept this country together? It's the people at the bottom of the barrel; the people being hit hardest by this pandemic," said Ahmed. "We say we love the NHS more than the Royal Family, more than the army, but do we love the people who keep the NHS alive? Because every time we tell people to f--- off back to where they came from, that's not what we're saying."

Ahmed on the set of Venom. (Sony Pictures)

Coronavirus: What you need to know

How is coronavirus transmitted?

The human coronavirus is only spread from someone infected with COVID-19 to another. This occurs through close contact with an infected person through contaminated droplets spread by coughing or sneezing, or by contact with contaminated hands or surfaces.

What are the symptoms of someone infected with coronavirus?

Coronavirus patients may experience flu like symptoms such as a fever, cough, runny nose, or shortness of breath. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia with severe acute respiratory distress.